REDREAMING THE KITCHEN (Ranting about beige)

Well i like to think that i can take an idea and mould it to suit circumstances in terms of decorating.... my immediate reaction to the kitchen at Hathaway was to think........ It will do lots of cupboards..........but the dammed stove has to go and the beige walls and the blue formica countertops want to make me screammmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Well....... after a couple of weeks some of the obvious organizational features and peculiar quirks that go to makeup THIS KITCHEN manifest themselves.........like do not turn the microwave and the toaster on at the same time.....POOF.....there goes the circuit breaker...... UGH......... and the cupboard contents needed to be reallocated.....the coffeemaking area as far away as possible from the cooking area....... means i can still cook dinner while Patrick does his impersonation of a HOVERING SEAGULL.......well its also closer to water..... heres some before and after photos. Some of the main details you cannot see are that EVERY cupboard had scratched paint around the handles and was basically ceiling white..... well OBVIOUSLY that needed to be repaired and readjusted....so i removed all the handles and washed and sanded and repainted the cupboard doors.





The next step was to remove the BEIGE......i hate bland beige...... you would not think of me liking white in a kitchen??? actually it is the second white one i have had and i have to say it feels clean and hygenic and airy in comparison for a measly $20 tin of paint!! I mean talk about visual BARGAINS.......

SCIENCE CENTRE ITHACA

This weekend marks a whole year in the USA.....

To highlight the weekend and make a memory for the boys to mark this special time with we went to the Science centre in Ithaca .......... and we all had a great time...... here are some images.

AUSTRALIA DAY ABROAD

January 26, 2007

How to be Australian (2)
By Patrick McCauley

Australia remains a relationship
between a landscape and an idea
both of which continued
to move throughout the year
two thousand and six.
This is ground control
to Uncle Tom
who were you
whom I lived with
worked with - loved with
why did my love grow so thin?

The Australian population
has grown too big for the rainfall.
There is not much love here now
it is mainly sex.
We have money without wealth
and land without water
now sex without love.

The Australian male is legally required to
raise the children of his wife’s lovers.
One High Court judge referred
to her infidelity as the intimate facts
that are the property of the individual.
We apply homosexual moralities
to heterosexual families.

I knelt down in front of the clocks
at Flinders Street railway station
and begged forgiveness.
I begged for mercy
and was told
there is no mercy.

Although there is no contract without fidelity
fidelity also will not save you.
Australian men marry for about seven years
and are legally powerless
over the lives or darknesses
of their children
in fact these days
men are hardly male.

This is the underfathered
overmothered generation
of the addicted
the extended multiple
strangulation orgasm
the synthetic selection
the survival of the weakest.

Australian men may only exercise fatherhood
with the permission of motherhood.
A drought of fatherhunger
continues to rage throughout the land
and ‘thought lies slaughtered in the broken door’. (1)

The MCG is less than half full
of public servants, teachers and police
with a three day mandate to run the State.
Flesh continued to grow
twice as fast as vegetation.
They tick off their names
as those who have too many rights to lose
those for whom I work two days every week
who are clothed, telephoned and trained by the man.

The professors have share portfolios
the nurses and teachers
homes, holidays, dentists and superannuation.
The tradies have fast utes
with a couple of hundred grand’s
worth of tools in the back.
The skinny aborigine
has grown big and fat
wandering native titles
in concrete cities with internet lines.

Now there are millionaires from the working class
who will also not give money to the poor
old wealth diminishes even more.
The revolutions that sent them broke
stagger under equal opportunity and drought
and behind the marketing campaigns and hype
everyone just wants to get rich and die.

The domestic matriarchy guards the children
and the schools teach the boys
to become male lesbians.
Half of the entire nation
owns an investment property
that most of the next generation
cannot afford.

The aboriginal birth rate is greater
than the white birth rate.
White people plan for small children
then give them away to crèches run by the state.
Though child care will not solve
our problems with marriage
we remain a fast disappearing
non indigenous population.

One night as he was undressing
he noticed that there was no one there
or that he could easily crash the car
walk off forever with nothing.
He looked in the mirror
and there was no one looking back.
Finally he remembered he had forgotten his name
that we are all invaders
learning to be invaded
knowing we cannot be diminished.

Our multi tribal nation
further resisted cultural assimilation
yet we lived together all year without a war.
Progressive thought stopped
in a mucus of leftwing pride.
Political correctness was diagnosed
as a compulsive obsessive disorder.
It continued unabated
hating itself for knowing its denial.

Phillip Adams emerged from a long dry drunk
parading as a humanist genius
from a heartfelt, authentic, softleft
post modern reasonableness.
He demanded the decriminalization of drugs

The ecological aborigine bit the dust
and the noble savage was filled with lust.
Great wealth has come from the ambit claim
the dispossessed have harvested
a massive paddock sewn with shame
and the intellectual vanity of a Jesuit priest.

In Africa people became too poor to stay alive
twice the Australian population are dying of AIDS.
In the shadow
between the essence and the decent
despite the absence
we speed the same drunken boat
down the Great Ocean Road
in fear of arrival
in love with the vehicle
into the great new lonliness.

Who were you whom I walked with
in the mind of our host
interred amongst internal chatter
terrified by freedom
frozen in peace
unaware of the wealth
with the radio turned up full blast?

Why did my love grow so thin
so weak
so pale?
Are we focused on the suffering?
the screaming engine
bleeding from the needle
babbling about rights.

How has it come to this?
behind the façade lies the wreckage
the muscle.
Neither ‘ratscoats nor crowskins
nor crossed staves’ have kept off the rain. (2)

As a gesture of solitude
we dared seek transformation
without pain.
Now
we attempt to transform
with a name.

This is ground control
to Uncle Tom.
It is the twenty sixth of January
two thousand and seven
and all’s well.

(1) Thomas Merton
(2) T.S.Eliot - The Waste Land.

Patrick McCauley is a Melbourne poet and essayist. His last essay ‘Hang The Poets’ appeared in the October 06 issue of Quadrant. His last poem ‘How to be Australian (1)’ appeared in The Australian on Australia Day 2006.

TOP BLOG SITES

MONUMENTAL ART PROJECT. ARTEGRITY IN ACTION

The Concept" ;

The concept is a simple 1, to create a single work of art that incorporates the works of "Other" artists.

"A Collaborative of Donations from Free Thinking & Non Commisioned Minds"

My task is to design the "Housing around which, and in which, these works will be displayed as 1 work of art".

The title "Monumental Art" has been chosen by me to be clearly representative of a monument to the power of art as a dialogue ~ means of communication.

Monuments are a plenty in the world we live in, they surround us all the time. Monuments that depict "something" are always clearly visible as depictions of their subject matter, even tiny children grasp their meaning in thier own tiny way.

To my knowledge there is NO monument any where in the world that is a Monument to Art and .... Artists ... the creators of all art works.

Monumental Art hopes to rectify this hole in lifes conscious awareness of things around it. We need to remember Art just as we do War Heroes or other famous historic importances.

ALL works submitted remain the sole ownership of the creator, BUT all the rights pertaining to use of said works in Monumental Art become the sole ownership of "Monumental Art".

No one can claim ANY rights to Monumental Art, not even me. Either Monumental Art stands as the collaborative it was designed to be, OR those wishing thier work back can have it, BUT it no-longer has any right to have been a part of Monumental.

Monumental becomes the owner of its self. In being so in legal terms it can NEVER be sold as a single artwork.

Any attributed value to the title "Monumental Art" in its future, should such arise, will be by participation by anybody, handed over to an as yet an unnamed ~ un-created charitable organisation to be determined by those who have partaken in its "Original Birth".

Full legalities and their implications will be agreed now, by participation, to be discussed as and when and IF such needs arise. The majority holds in any such decisions. All minority participants in this area of legality will be entitled to remove their submissions, if they so wish.

This is the basic Concept of Monumental Art as seen by me at present. I suspect that if participation expands, so too certain finer details will be likewise expanded to overcome as yet unforseen issues. Thank You for reading this :)

Further details are below if you wish to consider entering, taking part in this idea ;)

......................................

1) I would like anyone interested in taking part in this project to create a work of art that is "their own", to their own style, and in materials they normally do art in ~ are familiar with. You should be the best judge of your own medium.

Size restrictions have to apply to anyone needing funding to take part in this. Choice of material background will be mine, I need your skills ~ efforts putting onto my sufaces.

Anyone with ideas on works over the approximate size of 400 square cms, that's about 20 cms high X 20 cms wide OR 30cms high X 12cm etc, who needs funding will have to discuss it with me prior to sumission ~ creation. Financial Limits have to apply. This said I already envisgae at least 4-5 "main pieces", but more of that later if this idea has takers.

This offer is open to ANYONE, no restriction on medium, style, subject, quality, the only restriction is no smut. I will reject it at every stage, even if I'm duped and have stumped up for it.

Nudity is NOT smut, erotica sails close to the edge of acceptable BUT not exclusively excluded, tasteful Erotica is always good art.

Phalic wooden tree stumps are IN (RQ) if thats what you really want the world to see you as a producer of. Graphically detailed phalic objects that have been crafted for explicit detail are OUT. Implied sexuality is IN.

ALL use of childrens imagery, regardless of permissions & who's child it is MUST be fully clothed in daytime clothing AND from the upper torso Up, IF a close up.

Personally for me imagery with children in is best at portraying innocence. Innocence is seen within a childs face, not its body. Just some food for thought.

Children in Artistic Imagery is an "Explosive" topic, please let us refrain from opening that debate on this thread ;) The work I seek for this project will NOT preclude the use of children, but it MUST have a contextual value superior to any that can be found in other subject matter.

Innocence ~Its values ~ eroded values is probably the only concept I would take imagery on with children in. Thank you ;)

Outside of what I state, I would expect any participant to be the only judge of the merit of their content. No-one tells you what and how to do your art now, so it is this that I want, "Your Work" ;)

There is no such thing as "Crap Art". Don't care what you've heard here or else where, there is NO crap Art .... ever.

There are learning curves, there is beauty in "effort", there is great value in works made inspite of issues, OR in co-operation of issues. Disability is NO excuse to dodge this project if you would like to take part.

Personal self opinion of "Calibre ~ Skills" is of no value to me (this means those who mutter "I'm not worthy") ALL members of AW who read this thread are eligable, their simply is NO exclusion zone, to anyone.

Finances are NO excuse to dodge this project IF you wish to take part (* see 3 for more info)

This about covers what I would like from anyone who fancies helping me to make "Monumental Art" become a reality.

Thank You if you have got this far ;)

.......................................

2)Costs of producing donations & reimbursments:

I am NOT a wealthy man, I am a normal person who leads an ordinary life (ish). I have more than many, but much less than some think. I am just 1 of the lucky ones in life who likes to "have a go".

I had a vision some time back in my life, it is still in my head. Having aired it once or twice it seems others see ~ feel this vision too.

I have decided to make an attempt to make this happen in Reality.

I can send materials to people any where in the world if they wish to take part, "Within Reason". In said material sending, reverse postal costs will also be added.

This means simply that if you wish to take part, but currently eat soil out of your garden to stay alive ( are strapped for funds) AND you are not shy, proud, and prepared to email me, I can discuss what you have in mind, and how to make it happen for you.

YES, this means I will pay for you to Legally Own your own contribution to this project.

I respectfully ask that you don't think big, think small, a contribution is a contribution. I want your work, moreover I want what lives inside your head, in Artform ;)

I hope this covers any main questions on this issue. Thank you if you're still here ;)

................................

3) Reimbursement is as above, in that having agreed via discussion on what and how much is needed, funds will be paid in advance ON TRUST.

I can assure anyone in here that any free rides will be restricted to a macDonalds Happy Meal, unless they can eat raw materials.

Participants are expected to have their own mediums to create their art. In this case the finished item is simply being donated to "Monumental Art".

Reimbursements will only apply for the works creation, NOT for any further costs incurred. ie returns of works upon dispute. All costs after submission will be borne solely by the participant.

If customs ~ the mailman lose my funds when sent, their will not be a second posting. Anything sent in the direction of the UK WILL get here. I will see to that, but it must "leave" its destination first, it must leave home soil before I can legally have it delivered.

If US customs withhold any outgoings we have to accept its loss OR you the artist must fight for its release, I cannot undertake such tasks from the UK.

Outside of anything written here I can discuss special causes ~ issues "privately". ie you might be prepared to finance production of a larger item (outside of what I have described) BUT want some "assurances from this end". This is an open door ;)

In short, if you make it, i'll ship it, to a point ;)

Thank You if you are "still" with this ;)

....................................

4) After contributions arrive:

Upon receipt of donated ~ completed artworks I shall publicly (unless otherwise stated) post acknowledgement in a relevant thread. I will also post written acknowledgement to said sender, signed by me.

Anyone wishing to "exchange" artworks instead of costs is welcome to ask ;) I can trade "your input" for my output within reason.

Nothing in any part of any texts I write here shall alter my initial proposal " Sole ownership is retained by the creator".

I expect participants to enter because they A) want the potential exposure and B) find this project exciting and worthwhile.

Fame as such would probably never happen EXCEPT as the collective we become, regardless of which piece caught who's eye and where. Some pieces will appear more prominent than others by their mere placement within the chain. This for me does not make the "better", it simply makes them "more visible"

5) As a final note it is my aim from the outset to "use" this piece to promote Art and Its Entire Meanings throughout those who see it.

I am hoping that with enough will, Support and sheer hard work, this piece can stand proud somewhere within the main city of Liverpool in time for 2008.

I summise that any pieces be here in Liverpool by July ~ August 2007 at the latest, so there is no panic to do a piece tonight ;)

I propose that anyone still reading this should set out to have some fun with this idea, not take it too seriously, .... NOT yet. We can agree that we have an ultimate goal, but getting there is about a million miles from this post.

Upon deciding to undertake my own involvement in this I will not be giving in, unless I die, NO JOKE. Please take this the right way but I am not a quitter, I will not be humiliated, brow beaten, copyright thefted, out done, flipped over, shafed or any other shennanigan.

If we undertake this, we do it together as a strong unified group, who support each other and get over fighting quicker than it can start.

Ultimately, to understand me you have to comprehend the meaning of "Integrity". In 44 years of life, my Integrity is unblemished and shall remain so, I have never sold out on anyone I get involved with, NEVER. I don't take kindly to those who seek to undermine my own integrity. It is the 1 thing that brings abrupt halts to my dealings with people, Lie to me and get caught I'll drop you like a stone, and tell everyone to boot.

This said, anyone who gets involved with me "I will defend their Integrity with the same vigour I defend myself with". You shake my hand on something, I will hold you to it, as I do myself.

A handshake is the only contract I have ever signed in my life worth honouring.

I bring to the table: access to corporate sponsors, small business sponsors, arts funding, everything I once was and have since regained out of life.

Thank You one last time IF you are still game for the project of my lifetime and perhaps your own ;)

I'm game if you are ;)

If this is all too heavy for everyone on here, I'll take no offence, none whatsoever, bury it, and move on with a smile on my face for trying. Hopefully you will too :)

FLESH SERIES: THE POUT

Gouache and gold transfer leaf on canvas box frame 12 x 12 inches.
The reflection of the mask of body language as being an almost institutionalized representation of what is considered feminine.......
Personally i think a pout is a manipulation......... or at the very least a deliberat use of sexuality to get one's own way......pretty successfully i might add.



As part of the Flesh Series of Paintings comes The Pout.......

WENDY BANDURSKI-MILLER.....

NameWendy Bandurski-Miller Known as Redreamer






Community Experiences
1990 Exhibition Co-ordinator. “Impremiere”

1991 Exhibition Co-ordinator. “Fibres, Forms and Figures”

1992 “Innovative Links National Conference” Adelaide
Western Australian Representative Team.

1993-1997 Rapid Response Team Member. Westwhales.

1993-1994 Secretary. Westwhales.

1994-1995 Bunbury Festival of Arts and Nature Inc.
Community Operations Committee Member.

1993-1996 Withers Whizz Kids. Performing Circus. Teacher Co-ordinator.

1995 Bunbury Festival of Arts and Nature. Board Member.

1995 Bunbury City Eisteddfod. Healthways Promotional Art Poster Illustrator.

1995 Bunbury City Eisteddfod. Co-ordinator. Circus Performers.

1997 Children’s Week. Mosaic Workshop. Public Art Programme.

2000 Medieval Carnivale Balingup. Committee Member.

2001 Medieval Carnivale Balingup. Poster design illustration & artwork.
2002-3 Medieval Carnivale Balingup School Community Arts Co-ordinator.

2002 Take Five. Train the Trainer. Performance Workshop Participant.

2004 Art Workshop. ‘Fibonnacci’ Hanging sculptures, South West Highway
Balingup.

2004 Small Farm Field Day – Student Art Display Co-ordinator.

2005 Committee member Balingup Medieval Carnival A Medieval Afayre

Relevent Employment1992 Bunbury Dolphin Trust. Education Officer.
1993 Bunbury City Art Galleries. Fun Club For Kids –Art Teacher.
1993-1996 Education Department. Primary Teacher – Circus & Art Specialist.
1996 Bunbury City Art Galleries Sum Fun Workshop Art Teacher.
1997 Bunbury City Art Galleries ‘Visions’ Art Training Camp. Bridgetown.
Workshop Facilitator.
1998 Bunbury City Art Galleries. stART Scheme. Art Workshop for Disabled Adults.
2001 Community Arts Project Co-ordinator and Artist.
Western Power Light poles. Balingup.
2002-5 Education Department. Primary Teacher. Balingup.Australia

Selected Group Exhibitions
1990 “Impremiere”. E.C.U Bunbury.

1991 “Fibres, Forms and Figures.” Bunbury

1992-2001 “South West Survey” Bunbury City Art Galleries.

1993 “Art Extrodinaire”. Bunbury .

1993 “Personalities and Perceptions” Jalindia Art Galleries Bunbury.

1994 “New Visions” Margaret River Art Galleries. Margaret River.

1994 “Paperworks. Images of the Bush.” Bunbury City Art Galleries.

1995 “Albany Art Exhibition.” Albany.

1997 ”Tulips in Carnivale”. Ellendale Galleries. Balingup.

1998 “Unframed”. Koombana Bay Resort Exhibition & Auction.

Bunbury.
2000 Forrest Corner Art Exhibition. A Medieval Affayre.
Balingup.

2000 South West Survey. Bunbury regional Art Galleries.

2004
‘Art Happens’ Balingup Town Hall.
South West Survey. Bunbury Regional Art Galleries.

2005
‘Art4people’ International Exhibition Enfield. Connecticut USA

Mullalyup Galleries Opening Group Exhibition. Western Australia

'Art Happens' Balingup Group Exhibition. Western Australia

'Cannery Arts Centre' Esperence Western Australia 9 x 5 exhibition.

Bridgetown Galleries Wendy Bandurski Solo Exhibition and Static Display.

Wendy Bandurski - Forrest Corner Solo Exhibition. Western Australia


2006
Hygenic Art Exhibition. New London. Connecticut USA

PINEWOOD DERBY

Jye wins the FIRST RACE!!!!
Some of the parent support teams and cheering squads.

Drew takes second in his division and Third overall........!!!! He is one VERY VERY VERY happy little lad.
Jye is so proud! Second place by a mere 5/1,000ths of a second!
Jye recieves his award for second in his division

Drew and Jye with patricks help have created their first pinewood derby model cars. It was important to us that this was about the BOYS efforts with dad providing the technical expertise and some cutting help ....... (using the jigsaw)....

CAMERA FILTERS AT SUNSET

I enjoyed the crisp evening air and quality of light tonight and had a PERFECT opportunity to experiment with one of the filters Patrick bought me for Christmas....... Cross 6x for highlights.........

ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK

Well driving to Ithaca today while uneventful underlines the sense of alien i sometimes become aware of in the process of daily life. Lots about life here is a new experience and wonderful and exciting. Sometimes it is a bit of a freak out. Like driving in bright sunshine in a snowy landscape........ so surreal to me still. The driving skills needed are not that different to driving on outback dusty roads........gravel and powdered bulldust are just as slippery as snow and ice.......but the difference is stark.......... not only a sense of the physicality of it all and the quality of light.....but also the PEOPLE. I cannot believe how reckless some people drove......skidding and careering around the place going faster than i judged safe considering the conditions......dont get me wrong i am quite sure that a great deal of caution is needed and i am sure i have a respectful helping of that.........it just seemed that other drivers did not.

What a stress to drive in it!

I made it safely to my destination and back again.....a little more experienced and wiser into the equation......... I did have fun shopping and picked up a load of small things i needed to continue with the settling into the house process........ and managed to find a day planner for myself and Patrick,......... thank goodness! I also picked up my filters for the camera.......i cannot WAIT to try them out.....off to The Glen tomorrow!

ICICLES

art by the wayside

BEING SILLY WITH THE BOYS

Being silly with icicles.......... and Drew was in an especially dramatic mood ......... should have been on stage today!!!

We stopped by the side of the road just outside Homer...........

Sick kids!

One of the things about living with children is invariable they get sick. This week it was yes turn to be bowled over by a nasty cold that turned to really NASTY croup........ He had a lot of time with mum and as you can see he was looking a little the worse for wear.

By Wednesday Drew also succumbed but was not as extreme....... tho we will see how that one pans out....... as a result a few plans were put on hold......but you know.......i just didn't mind.....i don't like my people being sick........

SEMPRONIUS GALLERY OF FINE ART

What a productive weekend we just had ........ from both a personal and artistic point of view. We met with a couple of builders and are now in a clearer position regarding WHAT exactly it is we want to build and the form it is taking. Amazing how you think you have manifest your thoughts until you go to explain it.......always a good way to learn about ones own thinking is to explain it to another. Patrick and i discovered we have a remarkable similar perception (which of course is great)... but you know one SHOULD never assume anything.

I am very happy with how we are settling into the new house it seems to suit us ALL very well. I think that we suit the house as well. Ironing out the major improvements we want to make is the main thing at the moment. Taking a week or two to catch our breath first....then its going to hit top gear again so to speak.

VISION REQUIRED

MY VISION FOR THE GALLERY

a haven for artists and art lovers alike

I CAN SEE IT....... CAN YOU????

NEW YEAR NEW GALLERY

Well for Patrick Drew and Jye and myself i suspect that 2007 will be about building and establishing ourselves in our new community and new home and building the new gallery.

Initially of course we will be settling in but it will not take long before we are ready to begin the Gallery project. In a way it has already begun as we are currently looking for a contractor to build on our cement pad........ the decisionmaking regarding the Gallery i can see having a long life in the future months to come.

I wish for the immediate future to at least establish a plan and a timeline....... aiming for a mid spring opening..... but i am not going to stress if that is not possible. It will happen when it happens .... on does just have to pick a timeline and work with it.

so come along for the ride ...... any name suggestions i would appreciate it if you emailed me...... OPEN to suggestions at this stage tho we are thinking that Sempronius/Moravia/Hathaway/Redreaming/Mindscapes are all words that can be considered for the name..... FINE ART GALLERIES.

wendymiller@hughes.net

NEW YEAR NEW SITE

There hasn’t been anything quite like ImageKind before. That’s because it combines several new concepts and technologies together in one site. In a nutshell, here’s what’s unique about this service:
Unique thing # 1
It takes advantage of fairly new fine art printing technology and exposes it to the world in a friendly internet interface and at an affordable price.
Why is this interesting?
Because for years, most consumers, photographers and artists couldn’t afford true “giclee” printing. Not to be confused with photo printing, giclee (pronounced “gee-clay”), is a highly sophisticated inkjet printing process that is so sophisticated, in fact, that it produces prints, which truly capture the artist's original intent. Even museums have realized the vast potential of this technology and have made giclee editions a permanent part of their collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco) and Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles) to name a few.
Unique thing # 2
There's a community here .
Why is this interesting?
Social network theory views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual people within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the members. The more ties between members, the richer the experience for all and the more members there are likely to be. Never mind. What it basically means is that our members contribute products to the site and we make it easy for members to find the products of other members or to learn more about the members themselves. We'll keep building functions of the site so that you can find artists based on geography, popularity and more. So, if you care about fine art, photograhy or a new way to market your own creativity, this is a very unique place indeed.
Unique thing #3
Customers, photographers and artists get more control over the sale of their products than ever before.
Why is this interesting?
Only recently, other sites have begun to let artists and photographers have access to their printing technology and their storefront. But they don't accept all artists. And the few that do this still primarily make their money selling pre-printed posters. Their focus is not about the membership and converting your digital files into sales. Additionally, they keep most of your money! Finally, they control the resale price of your products. To us, that’s crazy. It’s your work. You should get to control how it is priced and you should get to keep most of the mark-up. We make a small amount above and beyond our wholesale (base) prices and we’re happy with this model because we prioritize different values. You choose how you want to price your work. We don't tell you how to do that but we're willing to help if you need it. Lastly, we don't ask for any exclusivity rights for any work published on our site. You can sell here and you can sell anywhere else. In fact, we encourage you to sell on as many sites as you can!
Unique thing #4
Our site is powerful, easy to use and easy on the eyes and we try hard to adhere to “user-centered” design.
Why is this interesting?
You sell more when shoppers can use the website easily. We don’t present your artwork in a cluttered environment. We don’t use 15 colors when 2 will do. The goal is to provide for the needs of all your potential users, adapting Web technology to their expectations and never requiring readers to conform to an interface that places unnecessary obstacles in their paths. So, we're not perfect but we're always trying to fix the site and make improvements. Really think about it: don’t you hate it when you have to figure out how to use a website who is in fact trying to sell you something? Hopefully, our site is fun to use! You will notice little improvements on an almost daily basis and we listen to feature requests of our members.
Unique thing #5
You can create, shop or sell wall art ... all produced from the digital files you provide.
Why is this interesting?
Photosharing sites are not about the production of wall art. They don’t use the right inks or give a choice of art papers. And, they don’t give you a powerful framing engine to design your piece. They don’t let you build a virtual gallery with the mats and frames adorning your work. They certainly don’t give you your own admin panel to login and see what you’ve sold. We send commission checks, stock all the inventory, make and ship all the products. You just have to exercise your creativity and upload the files. Even if you forget to set your own prices we’d still send you checks because we made sure that every artists makes some money on their photos or art even if they forget to enter a retail price!
Unique thing #6
Our site should grow faster than other sites that sell art.
Why is this interesting?
In part because we’re not a typical art e-commerce site. It goes back to the social & community components whereby members can discover the art AND interests of other members. Shoppers can discover reccomendations left by other shoppers. People can comment and rate the art. On our site, art finds its way onto the screens of other shoppers who will appreciate it most. How can this happen? Because we took the time to build the site this way. Want to sort artists by location? Want to see who submitted from Stockholm today? Last week? You can do things like that. And, it goes back to the fact that we give photographers and artists better technology at a lower price. You can get started for free. You can make fine art prints for 75% less than ever before. We created a new kind of site that tried to do a lot of new things in the realm of “wall art” but we also tried to fix the things that we thought were wrong about existing art sites who sell pre-printed posters.
Unique thing #8
We’re an online site but we’re real people who will be happy to take your call (assuming all of our lines aren’t busy at the time.
Why is this interesting?
Many of us have purchased products online to include airline tickets, CD’s and other things. You know how frustrating it is to need to get a real person on the phone when you need to make a change or request a refund? That’s mostly because they don’t want your call. We publish our telephone number where you can actually find it (it’s 1-888-264-1446 in case you’re wondering) and while we are small, we’ll try to get to every call as it comes in. If we get more calls in a day than we think we can handle then maybe we’ll need to figure out another method but for now we’re still thinking a little human contact is good business. And, the person you get on the phone is almost certainly going to be the person who tries to answer your question, solve your problem and make you smile.
Unique thing #9
We did this for a reason and think you should too!
Why is this interesting?
Because our reason is that we realized that art in all its forms (drawing, painting, photography, vector, 3D etc.) is increasingly being digitized or originates as digital from the beginning. More and more people use digital cameras. More and more artists are capturing their work on canvas or paper and creating digital copies. We also realized that all of these art forms combined represent one of the most popular type of leisure activity and creative expression! Finally, we’re reminded that art has always been the universal language throughout the ages. We’re simply streamlining one’s ability to consume, share and market wall art in a new online paradigm that isn’t hard to understand.